The strategy behind Bernard Tomic’s attack on Lleyton Hewitt
There was a time when Bernard Tomic wanted Lleyton Hewitt to be his coach. But those days are long gone. LEO SCHLINK details the breakdown in communication and reveals the tipping point in their relationship.
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Thanasi Kokkinakis hinted at it. Nick Kyrgios distanced himself from it. Others in Australian tennis ignored it.
Bernard Tomic, with a unique background in personal and professional conflict, laid it bare.
He pointed at the elephant in the room and called it Lleyton Hewitt.
Tomic’s withering assessment of the Australian Davis Cup captain was not so much surprising as considered.
As an owner-operator, Tomic is aware he is beyond the reach of Tennis Australia’s disciplinary powers given he has no interest in Davis Cup or the Olympic Games.
He no longer receives funding from TA, which for several years invested heavily in his development.
Tomic knows, laws of the land aside, he can comment with impunity on tensions stemming from Hewitt’s treatment of players.
His beef with Hewitt initially stemmed from professional issues. It’s since turned personal.
Tomic was once close to Hewitt and wanted the former world No.1 to coach him.
As a Davis Cup regular, Hewitt could count on Tomic – until 2017, when the Queenslander wanted out.
Surrounded by turmoil – pretty much his life story – Tomic had miraculously reached No.17 in the world.
But he was mentally shot.
The tipping point came 13 months ago when Hewitt invited a wallowing Tomic to a training camp.
Tomic rejected the offer.
When then asked to contest Tennis Australia’s wildcard play-off, the Queenslander was basically assured his participation would ensure a main draw slot at the 2018 Australian Open, regardless of results.
Tomic turned his back on Hewitt and the invitation, allegedly with a derogatory reference to “peasants.”
That play-off wildcard was won by a certain Alex de Minaur, now Australia’s highest-ranked male.
Cut adrift by Hewitt and others at Tennis Australia, Tomic was ignored for a discretionary wildcard last year.
For months, Tomic has not muttered a word.
He spoke to the Herald Sun last week, confirming he wanted to say as little as possible.
Defeat to Marin Cilic at Melbourne Park gave way to an explosive media debriefing.
Perennially cast as a lone wolf, Tomic’s targeting of Hewitt is strategic.
He is aware of the mutterings within the Australian game over tensions surrounding Hewitt and alleged player favouritism.
As an outcast, Tomic fires his barbs with impunity.
How TA responds, if at all, will be telling.
BERNARD TOMIC: A TIMELINE OF TANTRUMS
Sept 2009: Declines a practice session with Lleyton Hewitt, with a representative reportedly telling Hewitt’s team the two-time grand slam winner “isn’t good enough.” Tomic denies this, saying he turned down the session because he had swine flu.
Jan 2012: Fined three times in one day for speeding offences while driving his orange BMW around the Gold Coast.
Sept 2012: Accused of tanking by John McEnroe after a 6-3 6-4 6-0 loss to Andy Roddick in the second round of the US Open.
Jan 2013: Loses his driving licence after getting caught speeding again, this time in a yellow Ferrari.
May 2013: Tomic’s dad John headbutts his son’s hitting partner, Frenchman Thomas Drouet, during an argument in a Madrid street, breaking Drouet’s nose. John Tomic claims it was in self-defence.
Nov 2013: Photographed getting a lap dance from two women during the annual Schoolies celebration on the Gold Coast.
Jan 2014: Booed by his home crowd at the Australian Open when he pulls out of a heavily-hyped match against Rafael Nadal after one set citing a groin injury.
March 2014: Suffers the fastest loss in ATP history, losing to Finland’s Jarko Nieminen 6-0 6-1 in just 28 minutes.
July 2015: Goes on an epic rant against Tennis Australia at Wimbledon after then-TA performance director Pat Rafter threatens to withdraw TA funding for his family. Tomic calls Rafter a “good actor” and a “mask” for TA boss Craig Tiley.
July 2015: Arrested in Miami after a party noise complaint in a $10,000-a-night hotel penthouse. He spends a day in jail and his shirtless mug shot is shown around the world.
May 2016: Concedes a match to Fabio Fognini at the Madrid Open by holding his racquet backwards on match point. Later, he says he didn’t care about the match because he is “23 and worth over $10 million.”
May 2016: He and Nick Kyrgios are warned by Olympic team chief de mission Kitty Chiller that they may not be selected for Rio if their behaviour does not improve.
2018: Falls in the final round of Aus Open qualifying and as he leaves the court says “I’m off to count my millions before appearing on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
Originally published as The strategy behind Bernard Tomic’s attack on Lleyton Hewitt
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